Vietnam (brief) debrief: Hanoi and Ha Long Bay and back to work.

After Cambodia and a Saigon stop-off we headed up to Hanoi and out to Ha Long Bay for a few days each.

In Hanoi we stayed with some lovely friends and their two evil cats in their gorgeous apartment on one of Hanoi's many lakes - I blogged up Hanoi last time I went there so I won't bore you with a repeat.

And Ha Long Bay was bloody marvellous, mostly because we paid a little more than most people do to get a great 2 day tour. For $55 US per person we got 2 days/1 night on Ha Long Bay, sleeping, reading and lazing around on the gorgeous boat, being fed (mostly) good food, getting a tan (as much as a whitey like me can tan) and swimming in the world's most scenic outdoor swimming pool.

None of the photos I took do the place justice so just add it to the list of places to go to before you die if you haven't already been there, done that (or 'BTDT' as my supervisor says).

My brother left from Hanoi for Paris on Sunday and I flew back to Saigon (a true Vietnam Airlines special - a 3.5 hour delay on a 2 hour flight!). Now, I'm back and knuckling down to do some work before leaving Vietnam at the end of the month. Will have to relearn how to cook, clean, transport myself and all those other boring proletariat chores when I get back to Melbourne - will be a shock to the system!